Dragon Aging
Dragons , Drakes and Whelps all go through many stages of growth during their enormously long life cycle. While size depends on the subspecies of dragon, many of them can reach hundreds of feet in length. Unlike Humans, age does not seem to diminish their strength, intelligence, or power, and often has the opposite effect, and so the oldest of dragons are among the most formidable and impressively intelligent creatures in all of Arland. Whelplings A Dragon is a dragon is a Dragon. Whether born as a Whelpling, a Drake or as a true Dragon, each of these creatures are simply stages along the same path. The obvious goal is for each of the forms to achieve the status of 'True Dragon'. Some stages, such as Whelp, simply mean that they have further to go on their journey than say a Drake or a Dragon. Whelps or "Faux Dragon " are the most common form of the 'Dragon' form. When a whelp clutches it produces eggs which will hatch into other whelps. On average, a whelpling will reach maturity (full size) within two years. Should one of those whelps be fortunate or clever enough to survive all of the difficulties that the world can present, it will grow beyond the size of a whelp and into what could be considered a Proto-Drake. The table below describes the basic process of how a whelpling progresses into dragonhood. When drakes have a clutch their offspring will start off larger and having essentially 'skipped' the first stage (of whelp). When a dragon has a clutch, its offspring will start off as a young dragon (having skipped the previous stages). This 'skipping' is possible for both Drakes and Dragons because of their ability to gestitate the egg longer before it is delivered and how much longer the eggs must mature within the nest before they hatch. See Dragon Egg When a Dragon reaches the end of his first millenium and is considered one of the Dragon Lords he is summoned by the council of Elder Dragons to appear before them and undergo a test of their soul to see if they have it within them to become a 'True Dragon'. All drakes have three choices: Undergo the test and fail - usually resulting in their death, pass and be welcomed into the court of the Dragon Emperor or lastely and least commonly, refuse to take the test and be transformed into a humanoid race known as the 'Dorrow ' and be sent back to the world to teach the lesser races. Intelligence and Age Dragons, who are born of Dragon parents, are born naturally more mature and more intelligent than a Whelpling or a Drake. They have less to learn about the nature of what it means to be a Dragon. A Whelpling, by contrast, has a much longer journey and has more to learn. Additionally, having been born a Whelpling, they will never truely lose their 'feral' heritage - even should one live to be a thousand years old. Category:Dragon